Aquamarine Café has “soft opening” downtownFor Konstantinos Macheras, the opening of the Aquamarine Café, Kodiak’s newest eatery, marks his 12th establishment in 43 years in the business – and the conclusion of a year and a half of toil. “It took us a lot of hard work and a lot of frustrations, but we got it finished and we’re very happy to be opening for business today,” Macheras told the Mirror Thursday. The café makes another potential hot spot in Kodia...

NDAA is unconstitutionalTo the editor, The NDAA (National Defense Authorization Act) is arguably the most unconstitutional and frightening piece of legislation ever to be signed into law. The similarities to Nazi Germany's "Enabling Act" and the NDAA are listed below. 1. The Enabling Act’s official Orwellian name was the 'Law for Removing the Distress of the People and the Reich.’ The NDAA’s little brother’s Orwellian name is the 'Patrio...

City Council’s Saravia keeps eye on UkraineGabriel Saravia may be known for his four terms on the Kodiak City Council or for arranging appreciation t-shirts and pullovers for the canneries workers. Now, Saravia, operations manager for Westward Seafoods, may be establishing a reputation for taking holidays in hectic places. Before he took trips to Cyprus and witnessed first hand strife between the Greek and Turks on the island. More recently, he has made se...

Visitors get tips on gardens, photos and background blursLocal photographer and gardener Marion Owen gets calls all the time from people wanting to see her work, so she converted part of her house into a gallery and started offering tours called “Gardens and Gallery.” “I had a lot of people say we want to see your work, and just sending them to a website was kind of boring,” Owen said. On Thursday, Owen gave a tour to the Lefebvre family, who were visiting from Nome and...

Public Safety Blotter: June 20June 2, 2014 • Around 1:35 a.m., police conducted two bar checks and a security check downtown. • At 2:05 a.m., police received a call reporting a vehicle in a ditch on Near Island. No one was around it and it did not appear as if there had been injuries. • At 2:49 a.m., police conducted a security check on Simeonoff Street. • At 4:47 a.m., someone called to report they’d found a cell phone and a passport on West ...

Local student designs bus stop for Eagle ScoutsBoy Scout Troop 626 member Todd Hailey Jr. needed an Eagle Scout project. So he designed a bus stop. “I looked around and asked my troop leaders if they had ideas and someone said the Lions Club needed a bus stop to be built,” Hailey said. The service project is one of the steps to becoming an Eagle Scout, along with earning at least 21 merit badges and serving in a leadership role in the troop, according to the N...

The Eco Challenge will not take place this yearOne of Kodiak Island’s most grueling races — the Eco Challenge — got nixed this summer. The Eco Challenge, a Coast Guard Morale Well-Being and Recreation sponsored event, sent competitors on a wilderness scavenger hunt across the island. The race — that was opened to members of the Coast Guard and civilians — had been a staple in Kodiak since 2002. “We just don’t have the staff right now due to budget cuts and hir...

Judgment coming, warns visiting missionary Tim ZelloBY MIKE ROSTAD America, a nation that once sent Christian missionaries to evangelize the ends of the earth, stands in danger of God’s judgment, warned Rev. Tim Zello, guest speaker at the Kodiak Assembly of God Church on Crab Festival Sunday. Rev. Zello accompanied Republican U.S. senatorial hopeful Joe Miller to Kodiak. He is a volunteer on his campaign, still in primary phases now. “It’s time to suffer,” Zello s...

Nasal drift an important part of whale evolutionMany people, including myself, are mesmerized and fascinated by the sight of marine mammals. The behavior of the sea lions on their “home dock” in the Kodiak harbor seems almost human when they are lazily lounging in the sun, barking indignantly at the youngsters that jump wet and cold out of the water to crawl across their sunwarmed bodies in search of a good place to snuggle. Similarly the sea otter, when he flo...

America’s Veterans deserve support every day, and Alaska is a great modelMy recent message to colleagues on the Senate floor was blunt: You’re either for veterans, or you’re against them. It’s not enough to just make political speeches on Memorial Day or issue solemn statements on the anniversary of D-Day. You also must support our veterans every day of the year, by voting to expand their access to health care, by allocating more dollars to hire doctors, by doing all we can to reduce w...